MONMOUTH, Ore. – After trailing by six points early on, the Western Oregon University men's basketball team surged back to outscore Alaska Fairbanks by 31 points the rest of the way to roll to a dominating win over the Nanooks by a score of 99-74 to begin Great Northwest Athletic Conference play Thursday night inside New PE Gym.
"From start to finish I felt like our energy and activity level was very high and when you play that way, good things happen," head coach Wes Pifer said. "Having 22 assists shows the guys shared the basketball and you end up with five guys in double-figures. We must now turn the focus to a very good Alaska Anchorage team on Saturday."
The energy was electric throughout the game for the Wolves (2-6, 1-0 GNAC) as they shot 56.5 percent (39-69) from the field, connected on 14-30 (46.7) from three and went a perfect 7-7 at the foul line. WOU had 22 assists and held a 39-29 rebound advantage. There was balanced scoring throughout the lineup with five reaching double-figures led by Yosani Clay's 22 points. He went 8-12 from the field, 5-9 from three and added six rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. Cameron Cranston tallied 18 points, along with five rebounds, five assists and two blocks. John Morrill-Keeler collected 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Elihu Cobb added 11 points and five rebounds, along with a block and a steal. Collin Warmouth recorded 10 points in just 12 minutes on the floor, he added two steals and an assist. Zach Moore with nine points and Tyreek Price with eight points just missed double-figures. WOU held the edge in points off turnovers (20-9), bench points (34-9), points in the paint (46-34) and fastbreak points (16-6).
Alaska Fairbanks (3-4, 0-1 GNAC) came out hot to start hitting a three-pointer and then added a tip-in just over a minute in for the early 5-0 lead. After the Nanooks had the lead out to 9-3, WOU began to swing momentum and take control of the game.
A big dunk by Cobb off an assist by Cranston tied the score at 13, which was part of an 11-0 run to give WOU the lead for good. Cobb added a layup and after a jumper by Cranston, Warmouth hit a layup in transition for the 19-13 lead near the midway point of the opening half.
Following a basket by UAF, the Wolves went on another quick 7-0 run to push the lead out to double-digits. Cobb put down another dunk with a big follow rebound slam, Moore connected on a triple and Daisone Hughes closed the run with a layup for the 26-15 lead.
The Nanooks trimmed the deficit back to five with just under five minutes to go before the break, but WOU closed the half strong. A Cranston three on the next trip down the floor helped start a 18-8 run to finish off the half and move WOU out to a 15-point lead. Clay, Price, and Hughes all added points during the stretch, before Cranston closed the half for the Wolves with a jumper for the 46-31 lead at the break.
Early on in the second half, UAF tried to get back into the game, but WOU continued to shoot the ball well and push the tempo. With the Nanooks within 15 a few minutes in, Morrill-Keeler and Clay answered with five quick points to move the lead back to 20.
An 8-0 run down the stretch propelled WOU out to their largest lead of the night at 30. Warmouth and Qiant Myers hit free throws, while Cranston added a layup and Morrill-Keeler closed the run with another layup for the 97-67 lead at the three-minute mark.
UAF outscored WOU by five over the final few minutes to provide the final margin of 99-74.
The Nanooks went 26-62 (41.9) from the field, 7-22 (31.8) from three and 15-18 (83.3) from the foul line. Koby Huerta led UAF with 22 points, while Willie Thomas III and Mawich Kachjaani each added 16 points apiece. WOU held top-scorer Shadeed Shabazz to just two points in 24 minutes on 1-3 shooting from the field. He came in averaging 20 points per game.
WOU will host Alaska Anchorage this Saturday afternoon at 4:15 p.m. inside New PE Gym. The Seawolves picked up a 76-67 road victory at Saint Martin's on Thursday night.
